Early Episode III review from Kevin Smith

[Weltall]

It did feel more natural, but that's because of its light-heartedness and the fact that Han and Leia weren't two little kids. Were you ever in love at that age, or seen a couple in love at that age? It's very awkward. And it wasn't as big a part of the story as the Anakin/Padme relationship.

Of course I have, and of course I do. Most people are just a little smoother than that. Though, it was really Anakin who made it crappy.

You've obviously never seen The African Queen.

But I said that Anakin and Padme were reminiscent of a younger Bogart and Bergman. I could be more accurate with my comparison but I needed something that everyone (hopefully) would get.

Perhaps so, but it definitely did seem like the Mandy Moore/Shane Whatever romance.

Realistic bad guys aren't always tormented by horrible pasts and become tragic figures. That's Anakin. Palpatine is the devil, basically. But you will find out how he came to be, and why he does what he does. Though I suspect that nothing short of a Lifetime tv-movie moment will be enough for you.

Yeah, you're totally not listening to me.

I don't care if Palpatine has a tragic past or not. Not every character has them. But most characters, good and bad, have motives. It'd be great to know why he's destroying the republic and replacing it with his Empire. It would also be nice to know what started him down this path. Or did he just wake up one morning and decide "Hey, I want to be an evil emperor!" Realistic bad guys aren't always tormented by horrible pasts and become tragic figures, but realistic bad guys ALWAYS have compelling motives. How did he become a Sith Lord? Was he born to it? Did he decide to do it? If so, why?

So no more comments about the tragic past crap, because you know that's not my angle and never was. I can't, for the life of me, why you seem to be happy Palpatine is one of the worst-conceived villains (in relation to both his importance to the story, and to the sheer amount of exposure he receives) in movie history.